2011 serves as a reminder of how dynamic an opportunity Facebook game operation remains, but also highlights the risk of dependence on a non-specialist platform. With the gaming audience of the social network having shown little evidence of growth when compared to the previous two years, a certain ceiling has quickly fallen into place, raising barriers to entry and forcing operators to find ways to up their capability for acquisition as well as deepen tactics for retention and monetisation.
2011 serves as a reminder of how dynamic an opportunity Facebook game operation remains, but also highlights the risk of dependence on a non-specialist platform. With the gaming audience of the social network having shown little evidence of growth when compared to the previous two years, a certain ceiling has quickly fallen into place, raising barriers to entry and forcing operators to find ways to up their capability for acquisition as well as deepen tactics for retention and monetisation.
Facebook has made modifications to its platform to encourage uptake of its game apps (such as its launch of the mobile SDK in the fourth quarter), but the major impacts of 2011 will be that of overall slowdown and further downward pressure placed on prospective return on investment. Regardless, the year still has some lively movements, with several operators seeing strong growth, and others sitting out a consistent decline.
Aside from the content strategies and userbase patterns of major companies, we look at the trends in genre and IP and offer a detailed overview of the changes in first-party reporting implemented in October that left saw some operators lose up to 40 per cent of their MAU (monthly active user) counts overnight. Zynga's IPO, too, proves interesting, with social network gaming's poster child finally peeling back some of the layers of detail that can make online gaming a deceptively complex and risky endeavour. IHS Screen Digest will be offering a deeper delve into the social network gaming market later this year, with an update of its annual report.